Hotel India

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Travel Documentary hosted by Paul McGann, published by BBC in 2014 - English narration

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Hotel India Documentary series going behind the scenes of India's oldest and most famous hotel, the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. The Taj is where the super-rich come to be treated like the maharajahs of India's past and where rooms can cost up to £9,000 per night, all in a city where half of the population still lives below the poverty line. Over six months, the film-makers follow the hotel's 1,500 strong staff as they perform their duties with the mantra 'Guest is God' in mind.

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In this film, meet general manager Gaurav and executive housekeeper Indrani, who spend their days making check after check on the VIP visits to the hotel's luxurious Tata Suite, Maria Mooers, one of the hotel's long-term residents, who spends half of each year living in the Taj, oil trader Captain Bhasin, who hosts a cocktail party in his suite, served by his English-style butler, Melville, and Mr Chaskar, who has been in charge of the hotel's minibar service for over 40 years

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When it opened in 1903, the Taj Mahal Palace was the first luxury hotel in India and the first to have air conditioning, electricity and a licensed bar. This obsession with the new continues, with the hotel's deputy general manager Parveen hosting the first ever Christie's auction of Indian art in India - and the hope is that Mumbai's super-rich will break a world sales record. In this grand hotel, which has hosted everyone from President Obama to the Rolling Stones, we follow the staff both front of house and behind the scenes as they welcome the latest guests through the doors. Concierge Satish - the man who can get you anything - assists regular guests Peter and Suzie Noble, who have shipped their vintage Lanchester car from Essex to tour around the Indian subcontinent. And Anoushka Shankar, sitar player and daughter of Ravi Shankar, returns to the hotel where her father first taught George Harrison to play.

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The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel has played host to some of Mumbai's grandest and most expensive weddings. For generations, Indian families have met and married at the Taj. We follow preparations for Rittika and Parth's wedding - an event that is part of their family heritage, as the groom's parents had an arranged marriage at the hotel 28 years ago. We are also with Mehr; the hotels youngest-ever head of food and beverages as she obsessively presides over menus, table settings and canapes. We meet Indian socialite Shoba Dei who was first proposed to in the Sea Lounge as a teenager and we follow jazz singer Dana Gillespie who sang with the likes of David Bowie in the sixties and has been performing in the hotel for the last 30 years.

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In this final episode featuring India's oldest and most famous hotel, we meet those directly connected to its illustrious past and those caught up in a tragic event from more recent times. Tikka Singh's great-grandfather was a maharajah who attended the inauguration of the hotel in 1903. Tikka - a man who would have been king - now has a day job working for French luxury brand Louis Vuitton and is one of five generations of his family to stay there. We also meet regular guest Ashish Ambrat, a self-made telecommunications millionaire. Growing up in modest circumstances, he dreamt of making it big and staying at the Taj. On 26 November 2008, terrorists attacked the hotel claiming the lives of 31 people. Guests and staff relive the terrible events of that day, including chef Raghu who was shot as he tried to evacuate guests. American oil heiress and long-term resident Maria Mooers recounts her experience of the terrorists who set out to destroy everything this palace of dreams represented.